Welcome to Rally Flashback, where we look at previous versions of the upcoming round of the World Rally Championship. Rally Sweden is one of the classic rounds of the WRC, and the only winter rally on this years calendar. This year the conditions will feature less snow and more ice/gravel, possibly similar to what we…

Colin McRae only won a single world rally championship, but he threw two others away by crashing the shit out of his cars. He remains rallying's most uh, enthusiastic champion. He passed away seven years ago today.

Most of my “How To Drive Fast” column is, unsurprisingly, about how to drive fast. As well as posing techniques, some of my pieces offer a glimpse into the inner-workings of motorsport, while others are just plain ridiculous. Siphoning through the bunch, you’ll notice I haven’t much talked about safety. So let’s start…

Subaru's now famous Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive is 40 years old. Contrary to what you might expect, the first couple of Subarus using it were not turbocharged racecars fighting against the mud and snow but rather affordable coupes and family cars in need of some extra grip. The Japanese company has been commited to…

Colin McRae was one of the greatest rally drivers to have ever lived. The Ford Escort Mk. II was one of the greatest rally cars to have ever raced. Put them together on the most famous stage in Ireland and you get nothing short of sheer brilliance.

Within 24 hours Travis Pastrana managed to crash his Toyota twice in his NASCAR debut in Phoenix. He then traveled to Missouri to wreck Colin McRae's X Games-winning Subaru in the 100 Acre Wood Rally by rolling it three times.

With the magnitude of this weekend's loss becoming clearer with each passing news story, we kept busy by cutting together some footage from Colin McRae's career into a Jalopnik tribute clip. We only wish there could be more.

The folks at UK's Telegraph have a touching obit up on Colin McRae, the rally champ whose life, and the life of his young son were tragically cut short yesterday in a helicopter crash near his home in Scotland. It's worthwhile reading for all. [via Telegraph.co.uk]

A helicopter registered to ex-rally driver Colin McRae went down in Scotland earlier today. No word on how many people were on board, but there were no survivors. Details as we know them. [UPDATE: The worst has been confirmed by the Times — McRae was killed in the crash. His five-year-old son was also on board, and is…

Here's an obviously old bit we'd never run across before — Clarkson arranges three Ford products on the starting line at Silverstone — a Cougar, Colin McRae's WRC Focus and Johnny Herbert's Stewart F1 machine — and gives himself a flying head start with Herbert leaving in the tail-end position. Watch and get stoked.

Rally legend-in-waiting Colin McRae's own rally car, the R4, made its public debut in racing trim at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK this weekend. The car was first seen at last year's Goodwood event, and McRae says it's suitable for rallying rallycross, ice racing and circuit racing, in addition to general…